US politics moratorium request
October 19, 2004 10:42 AM Subscribe

Matt, can we have an official "Day Without US Politics"--perhaps this Friday? I am so sick of the tired wrangling about how much of the site is USElectionFilter, and how wonderful all the random "cool web stuff" used to be. It would be really, really nice to have a one-day moratorium on the political stuff, and on the "too much political stuff?" debates.
posted by Sidhedevil to feature requests at 10:42 AM (72 comments total)

Advertise here: Contact FM.

Sure, we can try it this Friday. We can call it Outrage Rest Day as a joke.
posted by mathowie at 10:46 AM on October 19, 2004

Explicitly sanctioning one day as being without politics implicitly sanctions all others as being for politics!!!!!!

(Actually I think this will be good.)
posted by kenko at 10:53 AM on October 19, 2004

Best. Idea. Ever.
posted by unreason at 11:01 AM on October 19, 2004

Wouldn't a daily US POLITICS HERE thread be better all around? People could post all their stuff in one thread to their heart's content. (Still baffled why you did this with, say, F911, which was a navel compared to the election torso, and haven't done it with the Bush/Kerry stuff).
posted by dobbs at 11:03 AM on October 19, 2004

I can only imagine Godzilla battling NewsFilter
posted by matteo at 11:16 AM on October 19, 2004

I say we declare November 1, 2, and 3 to be No-Politics Days. Perfect time for it.
posted by brownpau at 11:19 AM on October 19, 2004

Didn't this very sentiment just earn cedar a prize drubbing? I guess it's all in the delivery...
posted by scarabic at 11:42 AM on October 19, 2004

I'm coming out of sabatical to say I'm in favour.
posted by timeistight at 12:15 PM on October 19, 2004

Woo hoo!
posted by Quartermass at 12:17 PM on October 19, 2004

Sure, we can try it this Friday. We can call it Outrage Rest Day as a joke.

Preemptive callout: you, the guy already wording his clever post that will appear to be political but actually link to a flash game where you put ducks in a sailboat: don't do it.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 12:23 PM on October 19, 2004

huzzah!
posted by sciurus at 12:26 PM on October 19, 2004

Never mind that, I just want a flash game where you put ducks in a sailboat. That sounds wildly entertaining.
posted by fvw at 12:38 PM on October 19, 2004

Hey!

What are these ducks doing in my sailboat!?!?
posted by kamylyon at 12:49 PM on October 19, 2004

[hisses at ducks]
posted by orange swan at 1:02 PM on October 19, 2004

Give me a Flash game where you can run over ducks with a sailboat, and I'm all for it.

What was the question again?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 1:08 PM on October 19, 2004

Doesn't this just mean that people will post the political stuff the next day?

Not that I think a day off is a bad thing, mind you. I just wonder what the impact will be.

I took a full week off from politics on my own blog back in September. And then started another blog to capture all the stuff I was missing.

The politic, its like a drug, I want to stop but I just cannot, I keep coming back for more and more and more.
posted by fenriq at 1:10 PM on October 19, 2004

I like this idea too.

Doesn't this just mean that people will post the political stuff the next day?

Yes, but it's like fasting - one doesn't fast because one is giving up food forever; one fasts to open oneself up to a different way of being and interaction with the world. The same thing with not working on a particualr day - a sabbath. It renews the mind and body, and I think observing a political post sabbath would be good for MeFi.

Heck, I'd support every Friday as "no politics" day.
posted by eustacescrubb at 1:41 PM on October 19, 2004

Try Orisinal - there's got to be something about ducks there.

I'd be fine with a day off... sadly I always think of cool post ideas too late.
posted by Karmakaze at 1:53 PM on October 19, 2004

Best. Idea. Ever.

Worst. idea. ever. But I don't much care, so carry on.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:59 PM on October 19, 2004

Sure, we can try it this Friday.

Perfect, because it's not as if this administration has a history of doing/releasing things on Friday afternoon so that they'll miss the mainstream papers' news cycles and people would only otherwise find out about them here.

How is Friday being defined? midnight to midnight PST? EST? 'Cause I just know I'll have a real barnstormer ready to go for Saturday morning, whenever that may be.

And another thing: Why would ducks want or need to be in a sailboat? Are you sure you're not thinking of otters? They love riding in sailboats.
posted by soyjoy at 2:13 PM on October 19, 2004

and how wonderful all the random "cool web stuff" used to be.

examples please? because your statement is bullshit.
posted by quonsar at 2:15 PM on October 19, 2004

Friday is wretched enough with all the flash. Can't we do it on Sunday?
posted by The God Complex at 2:19 PM on October 19, 2004

examples please? because your statement is bullshit.

It's like trying to prove to Americans that Saddam had nothing to do with 9/11. They've heard about the golden age so many times that even with proof a mouse click away, they will not relent in their baseless beliefs.
posted by The God Complex at 2:21 PM on October 19, 2004

Why would ducks want or need to be in a sailboat? Are you sure you're not thinking of otters? They love riding in sailboats.

I think I was dredging The Story About Ping out of my subconscious. Was that a sailboat that they lived on?
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 2:24 PM on October 19, 2004

Dumb idea but if it shuts up some weenies then so what? If we're going for special 'No' days I'll put in for a No Flash Day. I hate flash.

Oh, and another vote from here for 'there was never a golden age you old goat(s)(e)'...
posted by i_cola at 2:27 PM on October 19, 2004

soyjoy makes a good point, it would be more sensible to put Outrage Rest Day in the middle of the week.

By the way, soyjoy also points out a nice trick that flacks (PR monkeys like myself) employ to publish bad news. Any press release going out after hours is bad, after hours on Friday is extra double plus ungood.
posted by fenriq at 3:00 PM on October 19, 2004

What a cosmically *BAD* idea.

1) Friday (or any day chosen) is arbitrary at best. Why not choose Nov. 3rd? It will be just as snarky and political then. How 'bout Dec. 7th? Does that sound good? Tomorrow you say? Okay, agreed. I won't post anything political tomorrow. Are we done here?

2) Because the day is arbitrary, no matter what day it is, mathowie is going to have to hover like a mother hen, and pick off any political post that buzzes the Blue. We've already discovered that disclaimers on the posting page won't work, so regardless, unless we all agree, (or heap work on Matt) this idea won't work. Not everybody reads MeTa, so how does the word get spread? Does any violator get banned? What is the enforcement for this arbitrary rule?

3) Very similar to the pointlessness of increasing vice taxes, those who want change will not be satisfied until the irritant of political posts is tortured and killed. Gone, Kaput, Fini. The comments in this thread already offer example of that. Even the mere suggestion solicits excitedly escalating expectations. One day will solve or change nothing. Offering even this pitance of a day is lending moral and emotional credence to the holy war Seth called for many moons ago.

4) Exactly and precisely what evidence do any of you have that a day without politics will solicit ANYTHING better than what gets posted everyday on Metafilter. DandD babes, lost cities, proper dress shirts, scissors slicing scrotums, little dolls with large phali, open source TV and Godzilla are all out there in the blue, just this very day! Quit bitchen' in here and go check it out.

5) The "wahhh, I'm sick and tired" argument is just sick and tired. I don't know you, and I don't care about your poor tired (not to mention fragile) ego that tells you that Metafilter should be what you want it to be. I'll bet my last dollar that you all feel the same about me ... and you should. We're online, people, and nobody, NOBODY, is here to make YOU happy. If you don't like it, skip it. That argument has been made a thousand times, and still, some people think that their eyeballs and fingers deserve better. NO. No they don't. You want better? Provide it. Otherwise, be sick, be tired, many of us probably don't give a flying fuck. Deal with it.

6) Soyjoy is correct. If an October surprise happens, its better than average likely that it will come down on a Friday. I for one, am not going to be happy that my fave online community is well behind the curve because of some arbitrary rule posited by the emotionally fragile denizens who want puppies and kittens, without the hairball puke, torn up slippers and dog-shit on the carpet. Its all one big happy package folks. Quit hiding from it, or expecting mathowie to shield your delicate sensibilities.

/end rant
posted by Wulfgar! at 3:09 PM on October 19, 2004

For Golden Age debate reference, here's MetaFilter one, two, three, four, and five years ago today.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:17 PM on October 19, 2004

Soyjoy, I wasn't saying that "there used to be all kinds of cool web stuff on MeFi"--rather, that there are way too many other people for my taste complaining about how there "used to be all kinds of cool web stuff on MeFi."

It actually isn't the political posts themselves that bother me--it's the endless wrangling about the political posts.

Wulfgar!, I know it would mean lots of work for Matt. That's why I phrased this as a feature request.

As for the rest of your comment, I have no idea what an "Official Day Without US Politics" would be like on MeFi. Hence my interest in the experiment.
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:41 PM on October 19, 2004

Someone better let Postroad know.
posted by xmutex at 3:44 PM on October 19, 2004

Sorry, it was quonsar, not soyjoy who seemed to think I was complaining that "there used to be all kinds of cool web stuff on MeFi" instead of complaining about the endless complaining that "there used to be all kinds of cool web stuff on MeFi and now it's just USPoliticsFilter".

Soyjoy, my thought is that anything really important that happened on Friday would still be worthy of discussion on Saturday also.

I'm not against posts about politics, or about US politics, in general. I just think we could all use a day off from it right now. It's Matt's call, though, of course.
posted by Sidhedevil at 3:46 PM on October 19, 2004

how about a NSFW day?
posted by Stynxno at 4:06 PM on October 19, 2004

NSFW day? I'm down. Let's make it this Friday!
posted by eyeballkid at 4:15 PM on October 19, 2004

NSFW Flash Friday! People at work, set your proxies to block!
posted by Salmonberry at 4:22 PM on October 19, 2004

EuphemismFilter: blocking the proxy
posted by quonsar at 4:30 PM on October 19, 2004

I can dig it.
posted by Salmonberry at 4:32 PM on October 19, 2004

(dig q's comment, not scarabic's which I have no opinion on)
posted by Salmonberry at 4:33 PM on October 19, 2004

You hit a gold mine there Kirkaracha - 10/19/2000 featured 4 newsfilter posts from Steven Den Beste alone, 3 of them within an hour of each other, from the same news source.
posted by pitchblende at 4:38 PM on October 19, 2004

I still think Sunday is the best day.
posted by The God Complex at 5:24 PM on October 19, 2004

So would this be an NSFW day on both the blue and the green?
posted by eyeballkid at 5:25 PM on October 19, 2004

You hit a gold mine there Kirkaracha - 10/19/2000 featured 4 newsfilter posts from Steven Den Beste alone, 3 of them within an hour of each other, from the same news source.

I know. What a wanker.
posted by The God Complex at 5:33 PM on October 19, 2004

So would this be an NSFW day on both the blue and the green?

hell, lets do it on the grey too.
posted by Stynxno at 5:41 PM on October 19, 2004

Any day is as arbitrary as any other, therefore every day is equally timely and apt! I'm confused by Wulfgar!'s insistence that we can't possibly choose a day that won't be arbitrary, therefore this won't work. How does anything in this world get scheduled? The people involved put their heads together and agree on a time. Those who miss the meeting hear hear about it secondhand.

scarabic, you're attributing to me an argument that I didn't make. I never posited that we can't choose a day that won't be arbitrary, or that the arbitrary nature of the choice is itself a fatal flaw. What I wrote is that the idea won't work because there is no consequence for violation, nor any good support for such a consequence. We can choose a day, and others can choose to violate that choice, either through ignorance or willful disdain. That's the arbitrary nature of it. Come on People, DECEMBER 7th ... politic free MetaFilter!!! Lets Roll!!!!

And, scarabic, what has been ignored is that, like hard water served to a thirsty man, this idea will not satisfy. Why not Dec. 7th? Well that's not soon enough, I would presume. The fact is, those who don't want PoliMefi, really don't want PoliMefi. They want a statement, that political posts are not appreciated. Fine, that statement has been made, over and over and over again. If you want to pick a theme for a day, I'm all for it. Sargeant Serenity wanted a fluffy bunny happy post day, and worked for that very thing. I loved it.

The fact is, arbitrary pretend agendas only hide the real agenda. The day that should be US politic free is Nov. 2nd. That's election day, when US politicians are prohibited from approaching polls (unless they're Arnold Shwarzeneger). Before that, there's too much to discuss and expose, and after that, there's too much to bitch about. And either way, this isn't a site that needs to be moderated into thematic crapulence.
posted by Wulfgar! at 5:57 PM on October 19, 2004

Give front page posters a checkbox for "Political," and users the option to not display all "Political" posts. Then you can have your politics-free MetaFilter every day. Political posts without the category set will be deleted.

That will end this incessant bitching about PoliticsFilter FOR EVER. Well worth the coding time, no? People in favor could even contribute through paypal.

Or consider having a MetaFilter Premium: for $5/year, you get categories and the ability to pick and chose which you see. The membership fee pays for the extra backend server hits.
posted by squirrel at 6:22 PM on October 19, 2004

14 days people. 14 days.
posted by smackfu at 7:16 PM on October 19, 2004

How about Matt just bans anyone who has ever made a political post for the next two weeks?
posted by page404 at 7:17 PM on October 19, 2004

How about not?

Offering even this pitance of a day is lending moral and emotional credence to the holy war Seth called for many moons ago.
Exactly. Anything that gives Seth pleasure is not good.
posted by amberglow at 7:24 PM on October 19, 2004

kirkaracha: I don't usually trot behind the "everything used to be better" argument, but I must say I found those frontpages a lot more appealing than today's, and ended up (re)reading lots of articles and threads.

But as I've favoured reducing the amount of politics on MeFi for a while now (or increasing its quality), I'm going to have to vote yes for politics-free-friday. --~~~~

The ducks don't want to be in the sailboat, if they wanted to be in the sailboat they'd get in the damn sailboat themselves and there'd be no game. You have to put them into the sailboat.
posted by fvw at 7:44 PM on October 19, 2004

why doesn't matt just put an RSS feed to dKos on the sideblog, along with a feed to FreeRepublic to keep Paris happy? Everybody wins!

C'mon matt, it'll only take you 5 minutes.
posted by LimePi at 8:15 PM on October 19, 2004

It actually isn't the political posts themselves that bother me--it's the endless wrangling about the political posts.

So your solution is to give the people being disruptive what they want? Cuz rewarding bad behavior diminishes it...uh huh...
posted by rushmc at 8:20 PM on October 19, 2004

I still think Sunday is the best day.

Well, yeah, you would, The God Complex.

Then again, so do I, but I'm sure that would not do for those who want to have a whole regular work-week day where they can frolic politics-free (and mark my words, that definition will be the subject of some interesting line-testing - after all, the personal is political, remember?).

Just to clarify, though, I doubt an "October Suprise" would be scheduled for a Friday - more likely another document-dump of "newly discovered" National Guard records or the like. I think the October Surprise is more likely to happen at the beginning of next week. But at any rate, yeah, if there is a Friday sneak, we can and should discuss it on Saturday. It just seems perverse, is all.

fvw, I see your point, but I still prefer the version with otters. The ducks, willing or no, are easy enough to get onto the sailboat, but the otters - even though they want very much to be on the sailboat - are so damn slippery and wiggly, it really makes it much more of a fun challenge.
posted by soyjoy at 8:20 PM on October 19, 2004

It's obvious you've never tried to get a duck in a sailboat.
posted by fvw at 8:48 PM on October 19, 2004

I vote for the otters over the ducks. Ducks know next to nothing about privatizing social security. And I hear that one of their daughters is a lesbian.
posted by kamikazegopher at 10:06 PM on October 19, 2004

What I wrote is that the idea won't work because there is no consequence for violation

Ah, then I understand and agree, hence the 2 requirements from Matt.
posted by scarabic at 10:08 PM on October 19, 2004

She's not a lesbian, she just likes beavers. Speciesist.
posted by fvw at 10:25 PM on October 19, 2004

It's obvious you've never tried to get a duck in a sailboat.

In my experience, one can get a duck in a canoe quite rapidly with a judicious application of bread crumbs.

It actually isn't the political posts themselves that bother me--it's the endless wrangling about the political posts.

So your solution is to give the people being disruptive what they want? Cuz rewarding bad behavior diminishes it...uh huh...

Exactly. The nastiness is caused not by the people being nasty but the people to whom and about whom they are being nasty. Personal vendettas are hence rewarded. Seth has won.
posted by y2karl at 10:08 AM on October 20, 2004

So, what exactly is banned under this "Day Without US Politics"? Would this thread make the cut? Or this one? What about Iraq posts? You can't talk about Iraq without talking about politics these days...
posted by FreezBoy at 10:11 AM on October 20, 2004

This NSFW day-- would it vibrate?

PinkStainlessTail: Ping lived on a "wide-eyed boat on the Yangtze river." I'm thinking it was a junk or a sampan rather than a sailboat.
posted by Secret Life of Gravy at 10:16 AM on October 20, 2004

stavrosthewonderchicken: Worst. idea. ever. But I don't much care, so carry on.

Thant's a pretty strong opinon for something you don't care about.

Wulfgar! I don't think this day off is to _solve_ anything. It's just a break. In the same way that new year's day doesn't solve anything.

As to being behind the curve check the mission statement. Metafilter is about being good rather than being first. I can't imagine anything in the political arena that can't wait at most 24 hours before being talked about here.
posted by Mitheral at 11:01 AM on October 20, 2004

As far as start time how about 5AM EST time being the start time. Makes it pretty logical for the majority North/Central/South America members and not to terribly early thursday night for Europe.

Sorry to our East Asia zone members, even when my sister was living in Australia I couldn't figure out when she was day wise. Would this time still be on Friday for you? and how would it line up with your awake/sleep schedules?
posted by Mitheral at 11:08 AM on October 20, 2004

Lucky Duck.
posted by soyjoy at 12:55 PM on October 20, 2004

It's not so much the virus that bothers me when I have a cold, it's the sinus congestion and mucus. Therefore, I should cut off my nose if I want to get well.

Hnn... Dat diddin wuk so well.
posted by scarabic at 4:33 PM on October 20, 2004

Matt, can we have an official "Month Without Whiners on MetaTalk"--perhaps this December? Sheesh. This is just as onoxious and won't go away with the Election Season. Okay, I'll just skip over the whiny posts.
posted by jaronson at 7:06 PM on October 20, 2004

I'll gladly stop whining about political threads for a month if we can actually have one day without them.
posted by scarabic at 10:12 PM on October 20, 2004

:::prepares his Meta post requests for Days Without Flash Games, Kitten Posts, Encyclopedia Entries on Other Countries, Apple Computer Booster Posts, Posts About Bands That Suck...:::

:::goes and gets more paper to continue working up his list:::
posted by rushmc at 11:37 PM on October 20, 2004

Hey! What about religion ?

We'd need a ban on that too. ;/
posted by troutfishing at 10:44 AM on October 21, 2004

Help help! My faith's being oppressed!
posted by troutfishing at 10:46 AM on October 21, 2004

no 'fat' posts.
posted by Miles Long at 2:35 PM on October 21, 2004

Well, I hate to say "I told you so," but...

Wait, what am I saying? I love to say I told you so!

I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so I told you so!

Ahhhh. I feel better now.
posted by soyjoy at 7:18 AM on October 22, 2004

I posted about Paul Nitze's death because in my view Nitze's life and legacy are about geopolitical issues, not US politics per se.
sorry if I somehow broke the moratorium
posted by matteo at 1:07 PM on October 22, 2004

why not have politics free year or four years and let bush inc. do as they please with our country and world?
posted by specialk420 at 4:28 PM on October 22, 2004

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US politics moratorium request October 19, 2004 10:42 AM Subscribe

US politics moratorium request
October 19, 2004 10:42 AM Subscribe